OD&D Edition Experience: Did/Do You Play OD&D? How Was/Is It?

[LordEntrails]

Played it. Loved it, would never go back. Too many holes in the rules and had a very adversarial DM vs Player attitude that I no longer enjoy.

 

[HarbingerX]

I gotta say, I'm a little surprised that nobody is currently playing OD&D. I figured that in an online gaming community as large as ENWorld there would be at least one.

They don't hang out here much. The types of arguments had here are about things that are anathema to OD&D play style.

They hang out on odd74.proboards.com

 

[HarbingerX]

LOL. I forgot the matrix. Which is even worse IMHO. Too long ago ... it all blurs together. It was, like, the 70s man.

Massively better is Target20. Player totals d20 + attack bonus, DM mentally adds monster's AC and if it's 20 or higher, it's a hit. Depending on class, attack bonus rises by level, 2/3 level or 1/2 level.

I use it in my OSR games, and it's just as good as ascending AC and even a tiny bit faster as you're adding or comparing small numbers. I really wish TSR had thought of it back in the day.

 

[HarbingerX]

So a related question. If you just want a simple and easy to run game with minimal options, can't you do that with the 5E rule set? Take the free basic rules and implement zero optional rules. No feats, no multi-classing, limited race and class options. Stop the campaign at tenth level.

You can... sort of. And a lot of OSR folks like myself are playing 5e. But I still find it way too crunchy and finicky to run compared to what I like; I do it only because that's what people want to play.

 

[HarbingerX]

After looking through many Retroclones and OSR titles based on OD&D, I'd have to put my interest at nil. The system is not my thing. Characters are so weak and ineffective you might as well not play.

The OSR community begs to differ. . Honestly, it's a lot like 5e - 1st level you're fragile, 2nd you can take a hit and run away to fight again, 3rd you can start holding your own.

If you ever have a chance to try a one shot game, I'd recommend it. The thing I love about OSR games is that the focus is so much more on the PCs in world activities and not on their character sheets and abilities. The game also runs much, much faster.

 

[Oofta]

You can... sort of. And a lot of OSR folks like myself are playing 5e. But I still find it way too crunchy and finicky to run compared to what I like; I do it only because that's what people want to play.

So if you want something even simpler, couldn't you get there? I'll be the first to admit I haven't played them since they were current.

But with zero optional rules about the only thing else to strip out would be skills. Maybe even get rid of the archetypes.

Not sure how much more simplistic you could get and the mat is a little less wonky.

Not a big deal. Just where I would start if I wanted a super simple game. Of course my games aren't particularly crunchy right now.

 

[HarbingerX]

So if you want something even simpler, couldn't you get there? I'll be the first to admit I haven't played them since they were current.

But with zero optional rules about the only thing else to strip out would be skills. Maybe even get rid of the archetypes.

Not sure how much more simplistic you could get and the mat is a little less wonky.

Not a big deal. Just where I would start if I wanted a super simple game. Of course my games aren't particularly crunchy right now.

Getting rid of skills would do a lot. I've always preferred to assign a d6 probability if I need to introduce some randomness; or a reaction check 2d12 is more reliable than a d20.

 

[Monayuris]

I've never played OD&D.

The closest I ever got was a Swords & Wizardry Whitebox game I joined in on, online. Also I ran a Delving Deeper one-shot (which is a much closer clone to OD&D... S&W takes some luxuries with the rules system).

I do run a ton of B/X and equivalent retro-clones.

I definitely want to play in an Original D&D game. But it's hard enough to get the chance to play in a B/X game, let alone, OD&D.

 

[Monayuris]

5e is a good game, but it's not going to give you an old school experience.

I've tried, and the conclusion that I reached is that it is simply much better to start with an old school game and tweak it to your needs than it is to try to strip down 5e.

You end up with the worst of both worlds. You are putting a lot more work into removing unwanted elements from the game and at the same time you are also fighting against player expectations of what kind of game 5e is.

It's better to just pitch an old school game using an old school game or retro-clone rule set.

 

[teitan]

I actually, in 1988, started with this version. Some friends had bought it at a yard sale for 2 bucks plus the Greyhawk and Gods, Demigods & Heroes supplements and a 1e PHB. We got together to play, some of the members of our group had played 1e, Basic and 2e but we generally stuck to those 6 books for those two years. I got a 2e DMG in 1990 and a 2e PHB in 91 but nothing captured the magic of those first couple years with those little books! I recently purchased White Box for some nostalgia.

Even with that my favorite edition that isn't 5e, is AD&D 1e. My aesthetic in D&D is very 1e like pig faced orcs etc.